Submitting a raw Japanese Pokemon card to PSA is not the only route to owning a graded 10. The other route is simpler: buy a card someone else already sent in, waited months for, and had graded. Both paths have a real cost. This guide lays out PSA’s own published fees and turnaround times for 2026, then compares that against what an already-graded PSA 10 costs to buy outright.
We are not PSA and do not set its prices. Everything below on fees and turnaround is quoted directly from PSA’s own pages, as printed on September 18, 2026. Everything on already-graded cards is our own currently listed stock.
PSA US’s cheapest tier, Standard, is “$59.99 /Card” with an estimated “90 – 100 Business Days*” turnaround. PSA Japan’s new Standard tier, launched September 15, 2026, is “¥9,980 /枚（税込）” with a “100営業日” (about 140 calendar days) estimate. PSA Japan grading is restricted to Japan residents, and PSA US has currently suspended submissions from outside the US — a real barrier for overseas collectors before fees even enter the picture. Already-graded PSA 10 examples, such as a PSA 10 Charizard ex 134/108 SAR currently listed at ¥71,735 (~$466), skip the submission and the wait entirely.
Store prices and availability checked September 25, 2026 at 13:48 JST. Marketplace observations retain their stated dates. USD conversions use ¥154 per US dollar.
Fees and turnaround are as printed on PSA’s US and Japan pages on 2026-09-18. Store prices are as listed on 2026-09-18; USD figures convert at ¥154/USD, approximate.
What PSA US Charges to Grade a Card (2026)
PSA’s US service page (psacard.com, as printed on September 18, 2026) lists ten paid service tiers, priced per card:
| Tier | Price | Max insured value | Estimated turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $59.99 /Card | $1,000 | 90 – 100 Business Days* |
| Priority | $79.99 /Card | $1,500 | 70 – 80 Business Days* |
| Express | $199.00 /Card | $2,500 | 20 – 30 Business Days* |
| Super Express | $349.00 /Card | $5,000 | 10 – 15 Business Days* |
| Premier | $599.00 /Card | $10,000 | 7 – 10 Business Days* |
| Premium 1 | $999.00 /Card | $25,000 or less | 5 – 7 Business Days* |
| Premium 2 | $1,999.00 /Card | $50,000 or less | 5 – 7 Business Days* |
| Premium 3 | $2,999.00 /Card | $100,000 or less | 5 – 7 Business Days* |
| Premium 5 | $4,999.00 /Card | $250,000 or less | 5 – 7 Business Days* |
| Premium 10 | $9,999.00+ /Card | $250,001 or higher | 5 – 7 Business Days* |
PSA’s own footnote on those estimates: “Estimated Turnaround Times are estimates only and not guaranteed. A service level’s Estimated Turnaround Time does not begin until the order has been entered into the grading system. These times are based on, and may be impacted by, PSA’s submission volume, capacity, and other unforeseen circumstances.” The page also states “Value Services Are Temporarily Paused,” so the lower-cost Value and Value Bulk tiers (max insured value $500) are currently unavailable. No separate membership requirement is stated on the fee page as printed on September 18, 2026.
PSA Japan’s page states that insurance and return shipping are charged separately from the grading fee (“グレーディング料金とは別に、保険料と返送料を頂戴しております”); these are not included in the figures above.
What PSA Japan Charges, After the September 2026 Changes
PSA Japan (psacard.com/ja-JP, as printed on September 18, 2026) prices in yen, tax included (税込), and just went through three changes:
| サービスレベル | 料金 | 予定納期 | 申告価格上限 |
|---|---|---|---|
| スタンダード (Standard) | ¥9,980 /枚 | 100営業日（約20週間） | ¥150,000以下 |
| プライオリティ (Priority) | ¥11,980 /枚 | 80営業日（約16週間） | ¥250,000以下 |
| エクスプレス (Express) | ¥29,980 /枚 | 25営業日（約5週間） | ¥400,000以下 |
| スーパー・エクスプレス | ¥44,980 /枚 | 25営業日 | ¥750,000以下 |
| プレミア (Premier) | ¥89,980 /枚 | 25営業日 | ¥1,500,000以下 |
| プレミアム1 | ¥149,980 /枚 | 25営業日 | ¥4,000,000以下 |
| プレミアム10 | ¥1,499,980 /枚 | 15営業日（約3週間） | ¥35,000,001 以上 |
PSA Japan’s official change notice, dated September 2026, spells out what moved: “「エクスプレス」の料金改定 2026年9月10日(木) AM 1:00以降 にお申込みいただいたご注文から適用されます。 ・料金：22,980円 → 29,980円 (1枚あたり)” — Express jumped from ¥22,980 to ¥29,980 per card on September 10, 2026. Five days later: “新サービスレベル「スタンダード」の受付開始 2026年9月15日(火) AM 7:00 より、お申込みいただけます。 ・料金：9,980円(1枚あたり) ・予定納期：100営業日” — a brand-new, cheaper Standard tier launched September 15, 2026. The same notice renamed two tiers: “レギュラー → プライオリティ” and “ウォーク・スルー → プレミア,” with Priority’s own turnaround estimate stretching from 60 to 80 business days as part of the same change.
PSA Japan also charges separately for insurance and return shipping: “グレーディング料金とは別に、保険料と返送料を頂戴しております” (insurance and return shipping are charged separately from the grading fee). Its 100営業日 estimate is explicitly “日数換算：約140日” — about 140 calendar days, not 100 calendar days, since PSA Japan’s business week excludes weekends and public holidays (“土曜・日曜・祝日を除く、月曜から金曜”). No membership requirement is stated on the Japan fee page as printed on September 18, 2026 either.
Who Can Actually Submit
Before cost even matters, there is an eligibility question the fee pages don’t answer but PSA Japan’s own FAQ does. From psacard.com/ja-JP/support/faq (as printed on September 18, 2026):
“D-08. PSA Japanに対して、日本国外からの申し込みは可能ですか？ 現在、PSA Japanにグレーディングサービスをお申し込みいただけるのは、日本国内にお住まいの方に限らせて頂いております。” — in other words, PSA Japan submissions are currently limited to people living in Japan.
“D-09. PSA USに対して、日本からの申し込みは可能ですか？ 現在、PSA USは米国外のお客さまからのグレーディング提出受付を停止しております。これに伴い、日本在住のお客さまにおいては、PSA Vaultをはじめとする米国経由のサービスが一時的に制限されています。” — PSA US has currently suspended accepting grading submissions from customers outside the US, which is also why Japan-based collectors find US-routed services such as PSA Vault temporarily limited.
Put together: as of this update, an overseas collector without a US or Japan mailing address has no direct submission path to either service for a Japanese card. That is a separate constraint from the fee tables above — it applies whether you’d choose the $59.99 Standard tier or the $9,999 Premium 10 tier.
What a Grader Is Actually Checking
PSA’s Grading Standards page (as printed on September 18, 2026) defines the top grade this way: “A PSA Gem Mint 10 card is a virtually perfect card.” Its full definition: “Attributes include four perfectly sharp corners, sharp focus and full original gloss. A PSA Gem Mint 10 card must be free of staining of any kind, but an allowance may be made for a slight printing imperfection, if it doesn’t impair the overall appeal of the card. The image must be centered on the card within a tolerance not to exceed approximately 55/45 percent on the front, and 75/25 percent on the reverse.”
PSA also flags that grading has a subjective side: “While it’s true that a large part of grading is objective (locating print defects, staining, surface wrinkles, measuring centering, etc.), the other component of grading is somewhat subjective. The best way to define the subjective element is to do so by posing a question: What will the market accept for this particular issue?” PSA publishes definitions for every grade below 10 on its Grading Standards page, but only the Gem Mint 10 definition was readable on the page we could quote.
The practical point for anyone weighing self-grading: paying a fee does not buy a specific outcome. A raw card sent in at Standard can come back a 10, an 8, or with a no-grade code such as “N8 Miscut” — PSA’s own page states the fee is waived in that specific N8 Miscut case; it does not promise any grade.
What an Already-Graded PSA 10 from Japan Costs
The alternative to all of the above is buying a card that has already been through the process. Here is a spread of PSA 10 Japanese cards currently listed on our site, across price points:
| Card | Currently listed |
|---|---|
| PSA 10 Charizard ex 134/108 SAR | ¥71,735 (~$466) |
| PSA 10 Pikachu ex 234/193 SAR | ¥46,446 (~$302) |
| PSA 10 Umbreon VMAX CSR 245/184 | sold out at the time of writing (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
| PSA 10 Gengar 074/071 CHR | sold out at the time of writing (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
Buying at these prices means the grading fee, the shipping to and from PSA, the insurance, and the 90-plus-business-day wait are already paid by whoever submitted the card. It also removes the eligibility question from the previous section entirely — a listed product ships to a buyer regardless of whether that buyer could submit a raw card to PSA Japan or PSA US under the current restrictions.
Which Route Makes Sense
Self-submission can make sense when a collector already owns a raw card, is confident in its condition, lives somewhere the submission restrictions above don’t apply, and wants that specific physical card graded rather than any comparable printing. The fee tables show the trade-off inside that decision: cheaper tiers take longer (PSA US Standard: 90–100 business days; PSA Japan Standard: 100 business days, about 140 calendar days), and faster tiers cost several multiples more per card.
Buying an already-graded card fits a different situation: wanting a specific PSA 10 print now, without the eligibility question, the multi-month wait, or the risk that the card comes back below a 10. Our own PSA 10 meaning guide covers what that grade signifies for a buyer, and our Japanese Pokemon card grading guide compares PSA against other graders in more depth.
Where to Buy
The four PSA 10 cards above are all currently listed, priced as shown. Browse the full PSA 10 collection or the wider Japanese Pokémon card collection for more graded and raw stock, or use Quick Order to ask about a specific print that isn’t listed yet. For more on how these rarities and finishes are graded, see our guides on Japanese Pokemon card rarities and CGC vs PSA, or our companion piece on textured Japanese card finishes and grading.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to grade a card with PSA in 2026?
PSA US’s cheapest paid tier, Standard, is $59.99 per card with an estimated 90–100 business day turnaround, as printed on PSA’s US service page on 2026-09-18. Faster tiers cost more: Express is $199.00 per card at an estimated 20–30 business days.
How much does PSA Japan charge to grade a card?
PSA Japan’s new Standard tier, launched September 15, 2026, is ¥9,980 per card with an estimated 100 business days (about 140 calendar days). Its Express tier rose to ¥29,980 per card from September 10, 2026, per PSA Japan’s own September 2026 change notice.
Can I submit a Japanese card to PSA Japan if I don’t live in Japan?
Per PSA Japan’s own FAQ (as printed on September 18, 2026), PSA Japan grading submissions are currently limited to people residing in Japan.
Can overseas collectors submit to PSA US instead?
Per the same PSA Japan FAQ page, PSA US has currently suspended accepting grading submissions from customers outside the United States.
Is buying an already-graded PSA 10 cheaper than grading my own card?
It depends on the card. Compare the current price of the exact graded print with the raw card’s cost, the grading service’s published fee and shipping expenses. A submission does not guarantee a PSA 10 grade. Check the current PSA fee and turnaround information before making that comparison.
Does a PSA 10 grade guarantee a card is worth a specific amount?
No. PSA’s Grading Standards page defines what a Gem Mint 10 must look like — four sharp corners, full original gloss, centering within stated tolerances — but does not set or guarantee a resale price for any card.
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